Kids on the Slope is a Japanese manga series by Yuki Kodama. An anime
television series adaptation of the same name aired in 2012. It is directed by
Shinichirō Watanabe at MAPPA and Tezuka Productions with music provided by
acclaimed composer Yoko Kanno, reuniting the two who previously worked together
on Macross Plus and Cowboy Bebop. The anime has been licensed in North America
by Sentai Filmworks. Plot
The beginning of summer, 1966; because of his father's job situation, freshman
high school student Kaoru Nishimi moves by himself from Yokosuka to Sasebo in
Kyushu to live with relatives. Until then, Kaoru was an honor roll student
who tended to keep to himself, but meeting notorious "bad boy" Sentaro
Kawabuchi starts to change him. Through his devil-may-care classmate, Kaoru
learns how much fun it is to play jazz and finds the first person he can call a
real friend. Characters
Kaoru Nishimi Voiced by: Ryōhei Kimura, Chris Patton
Kaoru is a brainy young man who moves during the summer of his first year in
high school from Yokosuka to his uncle's house in Kyushu. In fact, Kaoru has been
moving from place to place ever since he was a little kid due to his father's
constant departure to work on a ship. That, combined with his expanded
family's expectations for him, causes him to become an extreme introvert. But
after Kaoru encounters Sentarō, he starts to change, all while learning the
joys of jazz. Kaoru is a skilled pianist, familiar with classical music
until he meets Sentarō and he starts practicing jazz music with him. Kaoru
has unrequited feelings for Ritsuko who loves Sentarō instead, until Ritsuko
herself starts reciprocating his feelings.
Sentarō Kawabuchi Voiced by: Yoshimasa Hosoya, Andrew Love
Sentarō is a wild 1st-year high school student who meets incoming student Kaoru
at Higashi High School. Sentarō is mistakenly thought of as a thug by his
peers, who fear him due to his tall and strong figure, but really he is a kind
and bighearted person. In the beginning it seems he is the exact opposite of
Kaoru, yet somehow they hit it off when Sentarō starts to share his love for
jazz. As the child of an American soldier and a Japanese mother, Sentarō
is shunned by his grandmother and foster father, but gets well along his younger
siblings. The drums are Sentarō's instrument of choice.
Ritsuko Mukae Voiced by: Yuuka Nanri, Rebekah Stevens
Ritsuko is a classmate of Kaoru and Sentarō and an old friend of the latter.
This kind, always cheerful and charmingly-freckled high school freshman
is also the poster girl for Mukae Records, her family's record shop. The
basement of the shop has a practice studio that serves as a hangout for
Sentarō, Kaoru, her father, and occasionally Junichi. She is a devoted
Catholic just like Sentarō, and is in love with him. However, even though
Ritsuko denies Kaoru's initial advance and confesses her love of Sentarō to
Kaoru, she later begins to feel emotions for Kaoru instead.
Junichi Katsuragi Voiced by: Junichi Suwabe, David
Matranga Junichi is idolized by Sentarō, whom he
affectionately calls “Brother Jun.” In fact, the friendship between Junichi,
Sentarō, and Ritsuko goes back to when they were kids. Junichi goes to college
in Tokyo, but whenever he comes home, he always stops in at Mukae Records and
jams on the trumpet, playing jazz with Sentarō and Ritsuko's father. Later,
Junichi becomes involved with a political revolutionist movement; as a
result, he stops attending college and becomes disinherited from his family.
Tsutomu Mukae Voiced by: Zenki Kitajima, David Wald
Tsutomu is Ritsuko's father and the owner of the record shop where Sentarō
and Kaoru play jazz. He plays double bass and occasionally joins in with
Sentarō and Kaoru. Yurika Fukahori
Voiced by: Aya Endō, Maggie Flecknoe Yurika is a sophomore at Higashi High.
Though the daughter of a well-to-do family, Yurika has a spunky, polite and
strong personality and is brimming with curiosity. She becomes acquainted with
Kaoru and the gang after Sentarō helps her out by chance. Sentarō falls in love
with Yurika, but she takes a liking to Junichi instead, after she is introduced
to him by his friends. Later, after Junichi becomes disinherited, Yurika
begins living with him, which causes a drastic change in her life.
Shigetora Maruo Voiced by: Ayumu Murase, Greg Ayres
Shigetora is Kaoru's seemingly dorky classmate who has a passion for trains.
He is the one who arranges Sentarō's ticket when Kaoru travels to meet his
mother and also becomes part of Matsuoka's rock band. At the beginning
of the anime, classmates compare him to Kaoru in order to mock Kaoru.
Seiji Matsuoka Voiced by: Nobuhiko Okamoto, Blake
Shepard Seiji is originally seen with Yurika in
the art club, Matsuoka's secret dream is to start a rock band to help support his
family. He asks Sentarō to play drums at the spring festival with his rock band,
much to the chagrin of Kaoru. Mariko
Voiced by: Amina Satō, Cynthia Martinez Mariko is Kaoru's cousin, who often acts
bratty towards him and sometimes uses the favor of her mother to get Kaoru
into trouble. It seems that she enjoys hearing Kaoru play the piano.
Media = Manga=
= Anime= An anime TV series adaptation of the
manga started airing on the noitaminA timeslot of Fuji TV on 12 April 2012.
The opening theme is "Sakamichi no Melody" by YUKI while the ending theme
is "Altair" by Motohiro Hata. The anime series was broadcast on Viz Media's Neon
Alley online channel on January 17, 2014. The anime also aired and continues
to be available on Crunchyroll in English-speaking countries around the
world. Episode list
Reception The manga series won the 57th Shogakukan
Manga Award for general manga. References
External links Official anime site
Kids on the Slope at Anime News Network's encyclopedia